Flaming-machine



unirte starts PATENT erro.

JOHN Howaarii, or sALuivi, Massxoiiusnrrs.

PLANING-Melma Speeification of Letters `lEfatentNo. 82,823, dated March 23, 1852.

T all Iwhom t may conce/11a: i

Be it known that I, JOHN HowARTi-i, of Salem, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new 1 and useful Improvements `in Machines for Planing Lumber, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference beingliad to the accompanying drawings, which form `part of this specification,

Figure l represents a side elevation of my planing machine, Fig. 2 isa plan of the same; Fig. 3 is a vert-ical longitudinal sec `tion through the center of the same.; Figs.

l and 5 are detached views of port-ions of ,j thefeed apparatus, and Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are cross sections of the machine at `different points.

`My invention is divided into several parts, some of which may be applied independently of the `others to machines already constructed. The first of these `consistsof an apparatus for reducing the thickness of the lumber and for scoring it transversely.

The next part `of my inventionconsists in aniunyielding roller mouth piece which is constructed insuch manner that it maybe made sufliciently small to break the sliavings` i efiiciently, and is nevertheless so rigid that it cannotbend or yield to the pressure.

The next part of my invention consists 1n imparting a reciprocating movement to the plane irons in directions transverse to that in which the lumber is moved, whereby the work is performed with a less expenditure of power and greater perfection. 1

The structure and -operation of these several parts of my invention will be more fully understood by reference to the accompanying drawings which represent a planing machine in which the principles of my invention are embodied, and in whicha A is .the frame of the machine which is` of rectangular form, is supported at a convenient height above the ground by legs, a, a', a2, and in this example is` formed .of cast iron. The side piecesof this frame project in front of the first pair `of legs, a., and support anapron B upon which the board or other piece of lumber to be planed is en-` tered. At the hinder extremity `of this apron is a friction roller Cwhich extends across Vthe frame and `facilitates the` movement xof the 1board to the feed` apparatus.

The feed apparatus is situated behind the apron and is `Secured to that part of the frame which extends between the first and second pair of legs a a and a a. lt consists of two pairs of rollers D, D', .and D2, D3, which extend across the frame. The lower roller of each pair is stationary, its journals being supported in suitable boxes secured to the side pieces of the main frame. The journals of these rollers project -beyond their boxes and are fitted with cog wheels E E whose teeth engage with those of similar wheels E', E, which are secured to an intermediate shaft F. The wheels E', E, of this latter shaft gear into a pair of pinions E2, secured to a counter shaft F benea-th, which is fitted with a cog wheel E3, whose teeth engage with those of a pinion E4, on a driving shaft F2. The latter is fitted with a belt pulley G, to which the power' of the prime mover is transmitted by means of a belt. The upper two rollers D and D3, are situated immediately above the stationary ones D and D2, in front and behind a second intermediate shaft F3, whose journals are supported in boxes secured to broad standards H, H, erected upon the side plates of the main frame.

. per rollers are caused to revolve simultaneously with the lower ones, by means of cog wheels E5, E5, which are secured to the extremities of their journals, and which gear Vinto cog wheels E3, E6, secured to the second intermediate shaft F3.

These latter cog wheels also gearinto those of the lower Vintermediate shaft F, so that when the latter is put in motion by the driving power the four feed rollers are caused to revolve simultaneously in the directions severally indicated by `the arrows in thedrawing. n order that the lumber may be gripped` by the feed rollers with suflicient force to pro- -rel it through the planing apparatus the The journals of the.' upper feed rolls are passed through boxes` `which are secured in radius plates Z2 b. The

plane which is moved to and fro trans-y versely from one side ofthe machine to the j other, and of a roller by means of which the lumber 4is firmly supported. The scoring plane in this instance consists of a plane stock, K, to which two tubular or gouge plane irons, L L, are secured at a proper angle vto act upon the lumber. This plane stock is hinged at its hinder extremity to a frame N, which is constructed to slide in the direction in which the board is moved within an outer frame O, and is pressed toward the feed apparatus by springs e, e. The outer frame, O, of the scoring plane is constructed to slide transversely over the main machine.

frame upon a secondary frame or carriage M, and it is connected byf a rod P with a crank Q secured to a shaft F4, which is supported in suitable boXes at the side of the This crank shaft is caused to revolve by the driving shaft F2, the motion being imparted to it through the intervention of an upright shaft F5, and two pairs of beveled wheels R and R1. Beneath the carriage M is the roller S by means of vwhich the board is supported while the scoring irons are acting upon it. This roller eX- tends from one side of the machine to the other, and its journals are supported in suitable boXes which are constructed to slide vertically in slots formed in the side pieces ofthe main frame and are adjustable by screws t to set the roller at the proper height.

The apparatus for planing or dressing the surface of lumber is situated behind the scoring apparatus, and consists mainly of a series of plane irons acting in succession upon the wood, of a moving bed for supporting the boards, and of a series of mouthpieces for breaking the shavings and preventing the splitting of the wood in advance of the cutting edge of the planes.

The bed by means of which the boards are supported consists of an endless chain of friction rollers T, T, whose journals are connected by links j, j. This chain of rollers is applied to two barrels or drums, U and U',

whose journals are supported in boxes secure'd to the side plates of the machine. The upper portion of the chain 'which eX- tends between these drums is supported by a series of rails V which extend lengthwise with the machine and prevent the sagging of the chain.

The planes are constructed to move transversely in order to produce a drawing cut. Each consists of a plane iron WV and plane stock X. The former is firmly secured to the latter at a proper planing angle, and the latter is secured at its extremities to shoes, 7c and c, by screw bolts. It is also fitted with set screws z' z' by means of which its position upon the shoes can be adjusted to vary the set of the plane iron and the thickness of the shaving cut by it. The shoes of all the planes in the series are constructed to slide at right angles with the direction in' which' the board is propelled bythe feed apparatus, upon the side pieces m, m, of an adjustable carriage which can be raised or lowered to set the lower edges of the plane irons at a greater or less distance from the movable bed beneath. In order to impartthe proper movement to the planes their shoes at one side o-f the machine have ring frames Z formed upon them which embrace eccentric sheaves fn, secured to a shaft F 7. This eccentric shaft is supported by brackets 0 secured to the side of the plane carriage, and a suitable rotary motion is imparted to it from the intermediate shaft F, through the intervention of a shaft FS and cog gear. The shaft of the intermediate cog wheels, p and p', which connect the two shafts F7 and and FS, is connected to these two shafts by link bars, g g, the whole arrangement being'v such that the eccentric shaftcan rise and fall with the plane carriage without drawing the teeth of the cog wheels out of gea-r. In order to guide the plane stocks in their movement their shoes are fitted with stems r 1 which are passed through guide standards s s secured to the opposite side plates of the plane carriage.

The plane carriage consists of two side pieces m m connected by cross ties. It is raised and depressed by means of two slide plates t, t, which have inclined slots formed in them through which pins U o are passed. The pins also pass through vertical slots u, u, which are formed in the side plates of the main frame and which guide the plane carriage in its movement. The side plates t, t, are moved longitudinally to eEect the movement of the plane carriage by means of screws w whose heads are fitted with beveled wheels m, 00, which gear into similar wheels secured to a transverse shaft y. This shaft is fitted with a crank Z by means of` which it is turned to move the side plates,

and consequently to raise or depress the plane carriage and its planes.

Each plane iron is preceded by a mouth-l piece. That A of the first plane iron in the series is secured toa stock B which is made fast to the plane carriage. Those A of the remaining plane irons are secured to the hinder lparts of the plane stocks immediately preceding them. Each consists of a small roller which extends across the machine and of the roller stock to which the roller is secured. The roller stock is constructed to slide in a socket formed in the hinder part of the plane stock to which the mouthpiece is secured. The direction of this socket is such that the plane passing through its center bisects the angle formed by the surface of the board and the face of the plane iron; hence the mouth piece in rising and falling` will always press Vat the same angle upon the shaving whether the latter be thick or thin, and will always maintain the roller in the same relative position with respect to the faces of the board and plane iron. The journals of the roller are secured in boxes made fast to the roller stock, and the `position of tlie roller is regulated by set screws al which act upon the upper edge of the roller stock. As the surface of the board after theiscoring planes have acted upon it is wavy and irregular it is advisable that the mouth piece of the first plane iron should accommodate itself to these irregularities. This may be effected by inserting springs of india. rubber 7) in sockets formed in the roller stock ininiediately beneath th-e set screws ci a. The roller must necessarily be of small diameter in order thatit may break the shaving efficiently, and in order that its barrel may not spring under the pressure it is supported at suitable intervals by rests (l projected from the rollei stock. The mouth piece of the first plane is preceded by a yielding roller C whose journals are supported in boxes secured to the plane carriage. The stems 7c of these boxesare passed through sockets in which springs f are inserted whose tension can be regulated by screw nuts g. The last plane in the series is succeeded by a small roller e. This roller is secured to a roller stock D which is similar to those of the mout-h pieces and is arranged in a vertical socket formed in the last plane stock.

y The operation of this machine is as follows: Power is imparted to the driving shaft T2 by means of a belt and pulleys,` or. by some other suitable mechanical device, and is `transmitted through the various wheels and shafts to the several acting members of the machine. By this means the feed rollers are caused to revolve in the directions indicated by the arrows in the drawing, the reducing and scoring pla-nes are caused to traverse rapidly across the machine, and the finishing planes to move slowly in directions parallel with their edges under the action of their respective eccentrics. The adjustable carriage upon which the finishing planes are secured is then set, by turning the shaft y, in a proper position to place the edges of the last plane iron inV the series at a distance from the surface of the endless bed equal to the thickness of the finished board. The boards to be planed" are introduced endwise and one at a time upon the apron at the front end of the machine, and, being passed over the friction roller, are shoved between the first pair of feed rollers. As the board meets these rollers the upper one rises and permits it to enter between them. As it enters the two rollers gripping the board between them feed it forward to the next pair, which act upon it in the saine manner as the first. The board being no-w firmly gripped by the two sets of feed rollers the upper roller of each pair pressing upon it with a force corresponding to the tension of the spring, is forced endwise toward the opposite extremity of the machine. ln this movement it passes first beneath the scoring and reducing irons, which being moved rapidly acrossits face remove from it the surplus wood and score its surface. The board is prevented fiom bending while under the action of these irons by the roller beneath. As the board leaves the scoring irons it passes between the endless chain of rollers and the roller which lproceeds the first finishing plane. Tlierollerpresses the board firmly upon the endless chain beneath, while the rollers ofthe latter being put in motion by the friction of the-board bearing upon them roll onward upon the bearers beneath. As

the chain of rollers thus moves, those which arrive at the hinder extremity of the machine pass y downward around the hinder drum and returning forward pass upward around the front drum to take their places beneath the board. As the board moves upon this rolling bed it passes beneath the the reducing and scoring planes and produce a smooth and finished surface. As the hinder extremity of one board enters the first pair of feed rollers the attendant introdiices the front extremity of a succeeding` one, which, following in the track of the first one, forces it through the machine and is planed by a repetition of the same operations. y

From the arrangement of the upper feed rollers it evident that the higher they rise the more the springs which press them downward will be compressed, and consequently the greater will be the force with which they grip the board; hence the pressure adapts itself to the varying thicknesses of different -boards, the thicker boards which can withstand a greater strain without buckling or bending, being acted upon with greater forcewhile the thinner boards are gripped with less force.

On an examination of the operation of the scoring planes it will be seen that they are moved by the crank directly across the board, while the latter is being forced endwise through the machine. This endwise movement of the board tends to carry the scoring planes along with them, and unless some compensating arrangement was introduced would pressv the plane stock forcibly against the hinder way of the carriage upon which it slides, and would produce great friction. This defect is obviated by the arrangement of the plane stock within a secondary. frame in which it can move in the same direction. as the board, the actual track described by the edges of the scoring planes under those two movements being oblique to the face of the board. As the scoring planes arrive at the end of their direct stroke the springs, which are arranged in the secondary frame, move the plane stock forward in the frame to its original position, and, as'the plane stock is drawn backward over the board, it turnsupward upon its hinge and permits the edges of the scoring planes to rise and glider-over to the face of the board until they reach the side nearer the crank shaft when they drop to their proper positions for cutting.

vThe method of effecting the reduction of the board by narrow planes acting transversely upon it is superior to the method of reducing it by planes acting longitudinally, for it has been found Yby actual trial that much less power is required to do the work. It has also been found that but half the number of planes are required to finish the surface when the wood has been removed by the scoring planes. The scoring has also the effect of dividing the grain of the wood and facilitating the breaking of the shaving removed by the first finishing plane, hence the latter may be set to cut a` very rank shaving, and in this manner to do work which requires two or more planes when the wood has not been previously scored. The removal of the surplus wood by transverse planes also has the effect of reducing all the boards to a uniform thickness before submitting them to the action of the finishing planes, and as the office of the latter is merely to smooth the scored surface they are no t subjected to the violentstrains which is unavoidable when they have to effect the reduction as well as the finishing of the board. They are not therefore strained or bent and they work with greater precision.

The roller mouthpieces I have described are superior to those hitherto employed for the following reason: It is well understood that a mouthpiece to break the shaving efficiently must necessarily have a narrow bearing, and if the diameter of the roller be made sufficiently small to produce this narrow bearing, and be only supported at its extreme ends, it will bend under the pressure and will permit the middle of the board to rise slightly upon the plane; hence more wood will be removed at this part than at the edges and a concave surface will be produced, while on the other hand, if the diameter of the roller be made suficiently great to obtain the requisite inexibility the bearing upon the board is so broad that the shaving is not efficiently broken. These defects are obvi ated by the mouthpiece l have described, in which the roller is of such small diameter that the shaving is efliciently broken while at the same time it is so firmly supported by the rests that it cannot yield to the pressure and consequently will prevent the middle of the board from rising as well as its sides. By arranging the mouthpieces of the plane irons in such manner that the plane passing through their centers bisects the angle formed by the converging faces of the board and plane iron it is evident that they will act in the same relative position with respect to the plane and board-whether the shaving be thin or thick. This equability in their action is important, for its insures an equal finish in the boards planned by the machine.

The arrangement and operation of the finishing planes is also a great improvement upon preceding machines. On an examination of them it will be seen that they not only act with a drawing cut and thus sever the wood with a less expenditure of power, but that the moving mechanism is so arranged that the movement of one plane iron in one direction is compensated in whole or in part by the movement of one or more of the others in an o-pposite direction; hence the tendency of the plane to draw the board toward that side of the machine to which it is moving at the time is compensated by that of one or more of the others to move the board toward the opposite side of the machine; and consequently as these forces counteract each other the board will movel forward without deviating from the direction in which it is moved by the feed rollers.

The mechanism for raising and depressing the carriage to which the finishing planes are secured is both simple and eflicient. It is extremely convenient, as the carriage is raised simultaneously throughout its whole extent by turning a single crank. It is efiicient because the relative positions of the plane irons are not varied byA the movement of the carriage and the latter is rigidly secured to the bed frame whatever be its position with respect to the bed beneath on which the board is supported.

The bed for supporting the boa-rd while under the action of the finishing planes possesses two important properties. In the first place, it Works With but little friction as the boards are carried upon the rollers of Which it is composed and the latter roll onward over the rails, and in the second place it supports the board firmly, for the rollers are prevented from bending by the rails upon -which they roll.

The various mechanical devices I have described may be modified both in arrangement and construction Without departing from the principles of my invention. Thus for example the number of scoring irons may be increased and they may be arranged in tvvo sets which may Work in opposite directions toward the center of the machine; or they may be arranged in sets each of which Works upon but a narrow portion of the board. This scoring mechanism is also applicable to machines in Whichthe lumber is finished by rotating or stationary planes as Well as to the machine I have described, but as the details of the mechanism for carrying into effect these modifications Will be obvious to the skillful machinist I shall not describe them particularly in this Specilication.

The rests which prevent the bending of the rollers of the mouthpieces, instead of being immovable, may be formed by friction rollers which arrangement Will enable the machine to Work With a less expenditure of power. The finishing planes may be arranged obliquely to the direction in Which the boardis moved instead of at right angles to that direction. They may also have a curvilinear movement imparted to them in place of the rectilinear movement above described. The bed Which supports the pound frame Which carries the plane back i and forth across the board by a regular and` positive motion and back and forth length-` Wise of the board by a motion dependent upon the reciprocal action of the board against the planes in one direction and of springs against the frame in the opposite direction substantially as herein set forth.

2. I also claim t-he method of smoothing `the surface of boards or other' lumber by plane irons reciprocating' endWlse and operated in such manner that the tendency of one to draw the board toward that side of the machine to which it is moving is counteracted in Whole or in part by the tendency of one or more of the others to draw the board toward the opposite side of the machine, these several counter tendencies being thus made to neutralize each other substantially as described.

In testimony that the foregoing is a full description of my said invention I have hereunto subscribed my name.

JOI-IN HOWARTI-I. In presence of- WV. G. RUSSELL, P. H. WATSON. 

